NSC Celebrates Five Years of Workplace Safety Progress

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Safety Council marked five years of advancing workplace safety through the MSD Solutions Lab, established in 2021 with funding from Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), during today’s annual Workplace Safety Summit. Since launching, the initiative has mobilized employers, researchers and safety leaders worldwide to address musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), the most common workplace injury.

MSDs, such as sprains and strains, affect nearly one-quarter of the world’s population. In the United States, they cost businesses in the private sector over $19 billion annually, according to the Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index. They can also impact workers’ quality of life long after the workday ends – underscoring why MSD reduction is a critical part of the Council’s mission to save lives and prevent injuries. 

Held during National Safety Month, this year’s Workplace Safety Summit convened safety professionals, businesses and industry partners to share innovative strategies for mitigating MSDs. NSC recognized the continued growth of its signature MSD Pledge initiative, which now includes nearly 300 organizations representing more than 3 million employees worldwide. Through the MSD Solutions Index benchmarking survey, nearly 75% of participating employers improved their safety scores over the last three years.

“Five years ago, we set out to fundamentally change how organizations approach one of the most persistent workplace safety challenges,” said Lorraine Martin, NSC CEO. “Today, the MSD Solutions Lab is helping organizations safeguard millions of workers and turn awareness into action through research, innovation and collaboration. This progress shows what is possible when industry leaders, employers and communities come together with a shared commitment to protect what matters most – people.”

Over the past five years, the MSD Solutions Lab has published more than 50 publicly available research reports, toolkits, case studies and educational resources, launched annual Safety Innovation Challenges to identify emerging MSD prevention technologies, and invested more than $1 million through grant programs to advance workplace safety innovation and practical injury prevention solutions.

NSC encourages employers of all sizes to join the MSD Pledge community and access free tools and resources that can help protect workers and reduce injuries. To learn more, visit nsc.org/msd. 

About the National Safety Council
The National Safety Council is America’s leading nonprofit safety advocate – and has been for over 110 years. As a mission-based organization, we work to eliminate the leading causes of preventable death and injury, focusing our efforts on the workplace and roadways. We create a culture of safety to not only keep people safer at work, but also beyond the workplace so they can live their fullest lives.

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